CLI Command Reference

A detailed reference of all available Artisan commands and options in Laravel Spectrum.

📋 Command List

Command	Description
spectrum:generate	Generate OpenAPI documentation
spectrum:generate:optimized	Optimized generation (for large projects)
spectrum:watch	Real-time preview mode
spectrum:mock	Launch mock API server
spectrum:export:postman	Export to Postman collection
spectrum:export:insomnia	Export to Insomnia workspace
spectrum:cache	Manage cache (clear, stats, warm)

🔧 spectrum:generate

The basic command to generate API documentation.

Usage

php artisan spectrum:generate [options]

Options

Option	Short	Default	Description
--output	-o	storage/app/spectrum/openapi.json	Output file path
--format	-f	json	Output format (json/yaml)
--pattern		config value	Route patterns to include
--exclude		config value	Route patterns to exclude
--no-cache		false	Don't use cache
--force		false	Overwrite existing files
--dry-run		false	Run without generating files
--incremental	-i	false	Process only changed files

Examples

# Basic generation
php artisan spectrum:generate

# Generate only specific patterns
php artisan spectrum:generate --pattern="api/v2/*"

# Multiple patterns
php artisan spectrum:generate --pattern="api/users/*" --pattern="api/posts/*"

# Exclude patterns
php artisan spectrum:generate --exclude="api/admin/*" --exclude="api/debug/*"

# Output in YAML format
php artisan spectrum:generate --format=yaml --output=docs/api.yaml

# Force regeneration without cache
php artisan spectrum:generate --no-cache --force

# Dry run (doesn't actually generate)
php artisan spectrum:generate --dry-run -vvv

⚡ spectrum:generate:optimized

Optimized generation command for large projects.

Usage

php artisan spectrum:generate:optimized [options]

Options

Option	Default	Description
--workers	auto	Number of parallel workers (auto for CPU cores)
--chunk-size	100	Number of routes processed by each worker
--memory-limit	512M	Memory limit for each worker
--incremental	false	Process only changed files
--progress	true	Show progress bar
--stats	true	Show performance statistics

Examples

# Generate with automatic optimization
php artisan spectrum:generate:optimized

# Parallel processing with 8 workers
php artisan spectrum:generate:optimized --workers=8

# Adjust memory and chunk size
php artisan spectrum:generate:optimized --memory-limit=1G --chunk-size=50

# Incremental generation
php artisan spectrum:generate:optimized --incremental

# Run quietly without statistics
php artisan spectrum:generate:optimized --no-stats --no-progress

👁️ spectrum:watch

Watch file changes and update documentation in real-time.

Usage

php artisan spectrum:watch [options]

Options

Option	Default	Description
--port	8080	Preview server port
--host	localhost	Preview server host
--no-open	false	Don't open browser automatically
--poll	false	Use polling mode
--interval	1000	Polling interval (milliseconds)

Examples

# Basic usage
php artisan spectrum:watch

# Launch on custom port
php artisan spectrum:watch --port=3000

# Launch without opening browser
php artisan spectrum:watch --no-open

# Make externally accessible
php artisan spectrum:watch --host=0.0.0.0

# Polling mode (Docker environments, etc.)
php artisan spectrum:watch --poll --interval=2000

🎭 spectrum:mock

Launch a mock API server based on OpenAPI documentation.

Usage

php artisan spectrum:mock [options]

Options

Option	Default	Description
--host	127.0.0.1	Host address to bind
--port	8081	Port number to listen on
--spec	storage/app/spectrum/openapi.json	Path to OpenAPI specification file
--delay	none	Response delay (milliseconds)
--scenario	success	Default response scenario

Examples

# Basic launch
php artisan spectrum:mock

# Custom port and host
php artisan spectrum:mock --host=0.0.0.0 --port=3000

# Add response delay
php artisan spectrum:mock --delay=500

# Set error scenario as default
php artisan spectrum:mock --scenario=error

# Custom OpenAPI file
php artisan spectrum:mock --spec=docs/custom-api.json

📤 spectrum:export:postman

Export API documentation as a Postman collection.

Usage

php artisan spectrum:export:postman [options]

Options

Option	Default	Description
--output	storage/app/spectrum/postman/collection.json	Output file path
--include-examples	true	Include request/response examples
--include-tests	false	Generate test scripts
--environment	false	Also generate environment variables file
--base-url	APP_URL	Base URL

Examples

# Basic export
php artisan spectrum:export:postman

# Export with test scripts
php artisan spectrum:export:postman --include-tests

# Also generate environment variables file
php artisan spectrum:export:postman --environment

# Custom output location
php artisan spectrum:export:postman --output=postman/my-api.json

# Complete export
php artisan spectrum:export:postman \
    --include-tests \
    --environment \
    --base-url=https://api.example.com

🦊 spectrum:export:insomnia

Export API documentation as an Insomnia workspace.

Usage

php artisan spectrum:export:insomnia [options]

Options

Option	Default	Description
--output	storage/app/spectrum/insomnia/workspace.json	Output file path
--workspace-name	APP_NAME API	Workspace name
--include-environments	true	Include environment settings
--folder-structure	true	Organize with folder structure

Examples

# Basic export
php artisan spectrum:export:insomnia

# Custom workspace name
php artisan spectrum:export:insomnia --workspace-name="My Cool API"

# Flat structure without folders
php artisan spectrum:export:insomnia --no-folder-structure

# Custom output location
php artisan spectrum:export:insomnia --output=insomnia/api.json

🗑️ spectrum:cache

Manage Laravel Spectrum cache (clear, show statistics, or warm up).

Usage

php artisan spectrum:cache {action}

Actions

Action	Description
clear	Clear all cached documentation
stats	Show cache statistics (size, files, etc.)
warm	Clear and regenerate cache

Examples

# Clear all cache
php artisan spectrum:cache clear

# Show cache statistics
php artisan spectrum:cache stats

# Warm up cache (clear and regenerate)
php artisan spectrum:cache warm

🔍 Global Options

Laravel global options available for all commands:

Option	Short	Description
--help	-h	Show help
--quiet	-q	Suppress output
--verbose	-v/-vv/-vvv	Increase verbosity
--version	-V	Display version
--ansi		Force ANSI output
--no-ansi		Disable ANSI output
--no-interaction	-n	Don't ask interactive questions
--env		Specify environment

💡 Useful Tips

Setting Aliases

# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
alias specgen="php artisan spectrum:generate"
alias specwatch="php artisan spectrum:watch"
alias specmock="php artisan spectrum:mock"

Using Makefile

# Makefile
.PHONY: docs docs-watch docs-mock

docs:
	php artisan spectrum:generate

docs-watch:
	php artisan spectrum:watch

docs-mock:
	php artisan spectrum:mock

docs-export:
	php artisan spectrum:export:postman --environment
	php artisan spectrum:export:insomnia

Integration with npm scripts

{
  "scripts": {
    "api:docs": "php artisan spectrum:generate",
    "api:watch": "php artisan spectrum:watch",
    "api:mock": "php artisan spectrum:mock",
    "dev": "concurrently \"npm run api:mock\" \"npm run serve\""
  }
}

📚 Related Documentation

• Basic Usage - Basic usage guide
• Configuration Reference - Configuration file details
• Troubleshooting - Problem solving guide